For Immediate Release – August 24, 2021
MIDDLETOWN, NJ – Middletown Township will be hosting a memorial service on Saturday, September 11th in honor of the 20th anniversary of the World Trade Center attack. All members of the community are invited to attend the ceremony that will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Middletown World Trade Center Memorial Gardens, located next to the Middletown Arts Center (36 Church Street). This anniversary tribute will honor the 37 residents who perished on that tragic day by bringing together family members and friends of those we lost, religious leaders, dignitaries, first responders, and veterans. General parking will be available at the main lot at the Middletown Train Station. The tribute will be held rain or shine.
“As decades pass, we must continue to honor all the lives we lost to ensure that they will never be forgotten,” said Mayor Tony Perry. “We hope this 20th anniversary service will enable our community to reflect, remember, and bring a sense of peace and hope as we move forward together.”
To mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the Middletown WTC Memorial Gardens Committee is making improvements to the Gardens, which rest under a canopy of trees and feature a landscaped path with benches and a personalized memorial to honor each life. The Committee will be installing new landscaping, lighting, and a walkway of personalized bricks that lead to the memorial pathway. A first responder/military memorial is also being installed, as well as a memorial for those we lost due to 9/11-related illnesses, including the late Detective Lt. Joseph Capriotti. Detective Lt. Capriotti was known as the “keeper of the list” of the friends and neighbors we lost. He personally notified every single Middletown family who had lost a loved one that day – something that was of utmost importance to him.
In addition to these touching memorials, the WTC Memorial Gardens Committee is raising funds for a fountain that will embrace visitors at the end of the memorial walkway. With both remnants from the original World Trade Center, and an inspirational poem embedded in the concrete path around it, “The Rise of Hope” fountain will serve as a reminder of our past as we look to the future.
“The community’s outpouring of support for our 9/11 20th anniversary fundraising campaign has been nothing short of amazing,” said WTC Memorial Gardens Committee Chairperson Patricia Snell. The Committee has sold almost 1,500 9/11 remembrance yard signs, hundreds of engraved bricks, and both families and businesses have purchased personalized street banners that will begin to line Kings Highway and Church Street leading up to the memorial ceremony.
“I’m so proud of the upgrades we are making to the Memorial Gardens, and so grateful to everyone who is donating and making these renovations come to life,” said Snell. “It is not just grief that has brought us together, but our determination and perseverance to remember our loved ones.”
Residents honored at the Gardens are:
Lorraine D. Antigua
Jane S. Beatty
Donna Bernaerts-Kearns
Alfred J. Braca
Ronald M. Breitweiser
Patrick J. Buhse
Stephen J. Cangialosi
Swede Joseph Chevalier
Dolores Marie Costa
Edward Desimone III
Michael Egan
David Ferrugio
Daniel J. Gallagher
John M. Grazioso
Felicia Hamilton
Patrick A. Hoey
Kathleen A. Hunt Casey
Brendan Mark Lang
Rosanne P. Lang
Anna A. Laverty
Michael Patrick McDonnell
Peter T. Milano
Louis J. Minervino
Justin John Molisani, Jr.
James Thomas Murphy
Christopher Newton-Carter
Paul R. Nimbley
Robert Emmett Parks, Jr.
Nicholas P. Pietrunti
John M. Pocher
Beth Ann Quigley
Gregg Reidy
Robert Andrew Spencer
Dick Stadelberger
Kenneth Tietjen
Anthony Ventura
Rodney James Wotton
September 11th is recognized annually as Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance in Middletown Township by the Middletown Township Committee. Flag banners are installed annually as a tribute to the September 11th victims. The flag banners hang on telephone poles along Kings Highway, Church Street, and Middletown-Lincroft Road. The banners are sponsored by local businesses, organizations, and individuals. The flag banner display became part of the Township’s annual 9/11 commemoration in 2011. The project was spearheaded by Tony Fiore, who served as Mayor in 2011 and 2012.
About the Middletown WTC Memorial Gardens
The Memorial Gardens were developed by the Middletown WTC Memorial Committee, a group consisting of family members and interested residents. The Memorial Gardens were opened to the public on September 11, 2003. Construction of the memorial was made possible largely through donations. Visitors are welcome at the Middletown WTC Memorial Gardens, located at the Middletown Arts Center at 36 Church Street, from dawn to dusk daily. The Memorial Gardens continue to be maintained with financial assistance from the Middletown WTC Memorial Gardens Fund in partnership with Middletown Township. Donations for the perpetual maintenance of the Gardens are welcome and appreciated. Please visit middletownremembers911.com for more information about how you can help support our WTC Memorial Gardens. Donations can also be sent to: Middletown WTC Memorial Gardens, c/o Mayor’s Office, Middletown Township, 1 Kings Highway, Middletown, NJ 07748.
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